Le Chabanais
Encyclopedia
Le Chabanais was one of the best known and most luxurious brothel
s in Paris
, operating near the Louvre
at 12 rue Chabanais from 1878 until 1946, when brothels were outlawed in France
.
The brothel, famous enough to warrant an article in the 7-volume Petit Larousse
encyclopedia of 1906, was founded by the Irish-born Madame Kelly, who was closely associated with several members of the prestigious Jockey-Club de Paris
. She sold shares in the profitable business to wealthy anonymous investors. The total cost of the establishment was reported to be the exorbitant sum of 1.7 million franc
s. The entrance hall was designed as a bare stone cave; the bedrooms were lavishly decorated, many in their own style: Moorish
, Hindu, Japanese, Pompeii
or in the style of Louis XVI
. The Japanese room won a design prize at the 1900 World Fair in Paris
.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
was a frequent visitor; he painted 16 tableaux for the house, now held in private collections. The poet Guy de Maupassant
built a copy of the Moorish room in his mansion at the sea, so that he wouldn't have to miss it during his vacations. "Bertie", Prince of Wales, who would later become King Edward VII of the United Kingdom
, often visited the Chabanais during the 1880s and 1890s. One room carried his coat of arms over the bed. The room contained a large copper tub with a half-woman-half-swan figurehead, which he liked to fill with champagne to bathe in with his prostitutes. (In 1951, after the closure of the brothel, Salvador Dalí
would buy the tub for 112,000 francs.) Edward, heavily overweight, also had himself built a special "love seat" (siège d'amour) in the brothel, allowing easy access for oral and other forms of sex with several participants.
Other prominent visitors included Cary Grant
, Humphrey Bogart
and Marlene Dietrich
.
The French government sometimes included a visit to the Chabanais as part of the program for foreign guests of state, disguising it as "visit with the President of the Senate" in the official program.
In the mid-1920s, Le Chabanais was overtaken by the One Two Two as the top luxury brothel in Paris. During the World War II
German occupation of France, twenty top Paris brothels, including Le Chabanais, Le Sphinx
and the One Two Two, were reserved by the Wehrmacht
for German officers and collaborating Frenchmen. The brothels flourished during this time, and Hermann Goering visited Le Chabanais, as is related in the 2009 two-volume book 1940-1945 Années Erotiques by Patrick Buisson.
The French legal brothels, known as "maisons closes" or "maisons de tolérance", were closed by law in 1946, after a campaign by Marthe Richard
. The backlash against the brothels was in part due to their collaboration with the Germans. A 2002 survey showed that, despite the fact that 64% of the French thought that prostitution was "a degrading practice for the image and the dignity of the woman (or the man)", nearly two thirds believed that reopening the brothels would be a good idea.
Today, the six-story building is used as an apartment house. The Musée de l'Erotisme
in Pigalle devotes one floor to the maisons closes, exhibiting Polissons et galipettes
, a collection of short erotic silent movies that were used to entertain brothel visitors, and copies of Le Guide Rose, a contemporary brothel guide that also carried advertising. The 2003 BBC Four
documentary Storyville - Paris Brothel describes the maisons closes and contains footage of the Chabanais. A replica of Edward's love seat is exhibited in a Prague sex museum; the original was sold at auction in 1996 to a private party.
An exhibition about historical Paris brothels took place in a gallery across the street from the building at 12 rue Chabanais from November 2009 to January 2010.
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
s in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, operating near the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
at 12 rue Chabanais from 1878 until 1946, when brothels were outlawed in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
The brothel, famous enough to warrant an article in the 7-volume Petit Larousse
Petit Larousse
Le Petit Larousse Illustré, commonly known simply as Le Petit Larousse, is a French-language reference book first appearing in 1905 and later published in a 100th anniversary edition in 2005...
encyclopedia of 1906, was founded by the Irish-born Madame Kelly, who was closely associated with several members of the prestigious Jockey-Club de Paris
Jockey-Club de Paris
The Jockey Club de Paris is best remembered as a gathering of the elite of nineteenth-century French society. The club still exists at 2 rue Rabelais, and hosts the International Federation of Racing Authorities...
. She sold shares in the profitable business to wealthy anonymous investors. The total cost of the establishment was reported to be the exorbitant sum of 1.7 million franc
Franc
The franc is the name of several currency units, most notably the Swiss franc, still a major world currency today due to the prominence of Swiss financial institutions and the former currency of France, the French franc until the Euro was adopted in 1999...
s. The entrance hall was designed as a bare stone cave; the bedrooms were lavishly decorated, many in their own style: Moorish
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
, Hindu, Japanese, Pompeii
Pompeii
The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...
or in the style of Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
. The Japanese room won a design prize at the 1900 World Fair in Paris
Exposition Universelle (1900)
The Exposition Universelle of 1900 was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from April 15 to November 12, 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate development into the next...
.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa or simply Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, and illustrator, whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of fin de siècle Paris yielded an œuvre of exciting, elegant and provocative images of the modern...
was a frequent visitor; he painted 16 tableaux for the house, now held in private collections. The poet Guy de Maupassant
Guy de Maupassant
Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant was a popular 19th-century French writer, considered one of the fathers of the modern short story and one of the form's finest exponents....
built a copy of the Moorish room in his mansion at the sea, so that he wouldn't have to miss it during his vacations. "Bertie", Prince of Wales, who would later become King Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
, often visited the Chabanais during the 1880s and 1890s. One room carried his coat of arms over the bed. The room contained a large copper tub with a half-woman-half-swan figurehead, which he liked to fill with champagne to bathe in with his prostitutes. (In 1951, after the closure of the brothel, Salvador Dalí
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
would buy the tub for 112,000 francs.) Edward, heavily overweight, also had himself built a special "love seat" (siège d'amour) in the brothel, allowing easy access for oral and other forms of sex with several participants.
Other prominent visitors included Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
, Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
and Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
.
The French government sometimes included a visit to the Chabanais as part of the program for foreign guests of state, disguising it as "visit with the President of the Senate" in the official program.
In the mid-1920s, Le Chabanais was overtaken by the One Two Two as the top luxury brothel in Paris. During the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
German occupation of France, twenty top Paris brothels, including Le Chabanais, Le Sphinx
Le Sphinx
Le Sphinx was a brothel, which was opened in 1931 in Paris. In 1946, France outlawed all brothels.Le Sphinx was among the most expensive and best known maisons de tolérance in the Paris of the 1930's...
and the One Two Two, were reserved by the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
for German officers and collaborating Frenchmen. The brothels flourished during this time, and Hermann Goering visited Le Chabanais, as is related in the 2009 two-volume book 1940-1945 Années Erotiques by Patrick Buisson.
The French legal brothels, known as "maisons closes" or "maisons de tolérance", were closed by law in 1946, after a campaign by Marthe Richard
Marthe Richard
Marthe Richard, née Betenfeld was a prostitute and spy. She later became a politician and worked towards the closing of brothels in France in 1946.-Early life:...
. The backlash against the brothels was in part due to their collaboration with the Germans. A 2002 survey showed that, despite the fact that 64% of the French thought that prostitution was "a degrading practice for the image and the dignity of the woman (or the man)", nearly two thirds believed that reopening the brothels would be a good idea.
Today, the six-story building is used as an apartment house. The Musée de l'Erotisme
Museum of Eroticism
Museum of Eroticism is a sex museum in Paris devoted to the erotic art collections of antique dealer Alain Plumey and French teacher Jo Khalifa. Founded in 1997, the museum is situated in the Pigalle district of Paris, at 72 Boulevard de Clichy...
in Pigalle devotes one floor to the maisons closes, exhibiting Polissons et galipettes
The Good Old Naughty Days
The Good Old Naughty Days , released in 2002, is a compilation from over 300 recently discovered film clips from silent hardcore pornographic films made between 1905 and 1930, re-edited by director Michel Reilhac, with a new soundtrack by Eric Le Guen...
, a collection of short erotic silent movies that were used to entertain brothel visitors, and copies of Le Guide Rose, a contemporary brothel guide that also carried advertising. The 2003 BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
documentary Storyville - Paris Brothel describes the maisons closes and contains footage of the Chabanais. A replica of Edward's love seat is exhibited in a Prague sex museum; the original was sold at auction in 1996 to a private party.
An exhibition about historical Paris brothels took place in a gallery across the street from the building at 12 rue Chabanais from November 2009 to January 2010.